Several Ways to Die Trying
by Definitely-yesterday
Summary: One-shot based on the following prompt: Imagine Person A beginning to doze off while Person B is holding them. Person B whispers "I'll protect you" and Person A tiredly mumbles "From what?" Person B thinks for a moment and says "I don't know. Anything."


**Author's note:** This was not beta read, so any grammatical or spelling errors are solely due to me being the flawed person I am.

* * *

Castiel wasn't sure when spending the night at Meg's had become the norm as opposed as an occasionally pleasant occurrence. He was now in the demon's studio apartment, sitting under the sheet and blanket on the demon's bed, wearing a pair of boxers. A few moments earlier, the gore-streaked demon had hopped in the shower after stating she had just gotten back from some "demonly business" and needed to freshen up. She had kissed Castiel's cheek and gave him a smile then headed to the small bathroom. Castiel now sat with his back against the wooden headboard and his clasped hands resting on his lap. Now that the thought of how it became almost expected that the angel would spend his nights here was in mind. He looked down at his hands and frowned thinking back on when he started spending his time here.

* * *

The first time Castiel had spent the night was almost a year ago and was unexpected for both the angel and the demon. When Castiel had gone out to investigate a lead about the ever-nearing apocalypse, he had been ambushed. The lead having come from a fellow angel who had admitted later to having heard the information second or third hand. Castiel was a soldier and had managed to fight the majority of the mob until he had been pretty badly injured and cornered, leaving him no room to heal himself without further assault. The angel quickly tried to gauge the nearest safe location he knew of that would allow for recuperation. Castiel didn't want to possibly lead demons to the Winchesters, so he had reluctantly popped into Meg Masters's apartment. Or the apartment of the demon who had possessed, the now deceased, Meg Masters's body.

Castiel had managed to use the last of his energy to port into her apartment not focusing on a particular location. So when the battered angel had suddenly appeared in the darkened hallway kneeling and bleeding in front of the freshly showered naked Meg, she reacted instantly. The demon kicked him in the face knocking him back onto the hardwood floor. She then quickly clambered over him, slammed his head violently to the side, positioning her hand was just under his jaw while applying pressure to his throat. When Castiel had tried to turn his head to face the demon, she leaned down and drawled, "Oh honey, I wouldn't try to move. I only give two strikes and you're just about on death's door."

Meg felt the figure beneath her stiffen, she smiled against the person's cheek and opened her mouth to speak when she heard a raspy response from the invader. She loosened her grip on the person's throat a bit and put her ear closer to their face while saying, "You're gonna have to speak up, sweetie."

The figure spoke again with a slightly raspy but less strained voice, "Meg. I'm Cas-"

She felt the figure take a deeper breath beneath her hand and say in a rush of air, "Clarence. Casti-"

Meg had immediately removed her hand from his throat. She hopped up, running her hand along the wall. When she felt the light switch, the demon flicked it on then went back to kneel beside the angel.

"Shit," Meg said inspecting the angel's injuries, "I could've killed you, Clarence."

"But you didn't," Castiel croaked.

Meg shook her head while she continued inspecting his wounds, "One move and I would've dismembered you."

Castiel repeated his statement, "But you didn't."

Meg made a sour face at him and said, "You sure know how to test someone, don't ya?"

Castiel had given her a very slight smile before explaining what happened to him.

After that, Meg had insisted that he come to her place when he was in trouble. When he tried to argue about putting her into danger, Meg pointed out that wasn't an issue given that the people out to do him harm were mostly demons and wouldn't think to search her place. Additionally, she changed residencies every several months. Sometimes more often if she felt especially paranoid at any given moment. So by the time fellow demons suspected her location, she would most likely be long gone. Castiel had said her reasoning made sense, though was still incredibly risky. Therefore, he would minimize his reliance on her residence as a safe haven.

However, at some point that changed. It went from him popping by once a month or two seeking asylum to stopping by every few weeks to check on the demon. Castiel had started checking on her out of concern of her being discovered for helping him, which he knew wasn't exactly logical given that he was possibly further exposing her by visiting repeatedly. However, not matter how much he argued with himself, he always ended up visiting her. Castiel was visiting often enough to where the demon began making jokes about him not being able to get enough of her "demonic charms."

At the beginning of his frequent visits, Castiel had ported to her front door and knocked to make himself known. After much discussion with the demon, Castiel moved to the less conspicuous method of popping up in her living area and calling her name and/or waiting for her. Then Castiel's overnight stays became semi-regular until at one point the angel had decided that he had overstayed his welcome resting on Meg's couch for four nights in a row. It was the morning of the fifth day and Castiel was telling the demon that he would find a new place to go. He had a handful of deserted lodgings and hideouts that he could lay low as needed.

"I do not want to take up space in your home any longer nor do I want to draw attention to you," the angel had said, "So I'm going to go to my other safe houses for a while before staying here again."

Meg had looked him in the eyes and said in a resolute tone, "No."

Perplexed, Castiel responded, "No? No, what?"

"You aren't going anywhere. You'll lay low at my place at nights for as long as needed," the demon said.

Castiel furrowed his brows, when he was about to protest, Meg had replied, "End of discussion."

The demon then walked away from him towards her bedroom. Castiel had stood awkwardly with his trench coat half on for a few moments then removed it completely and draped it over a kitchen chair.

Castiel had then stayed on her couch for a while until, upon her invitation, the angel moved to accompany her in her bed. They had went from allies to friends then, eventually, to lovers. While neither had spoken of emotional attachments, the angel knew he was more than a little attached to the demon. They hadn't spoken of the progression of their involvement at all, as a matter of fact. As of a few months ago, they had become fully intimate on a regular basis. Castiel had been wondering when to bring up emotions or if he even should. Now as he sat in her bed and waited for her to finished showering, the angel pondered demon customs in regards to romantic intentions. Human customs varied so much as is and he had been basing their involvement on human practices because those are the ones he was familiar with to some degree. Did demons having romantic customs? Could demons feel more than a physical attraction? Did Meg actually care for the soldier angel? Or did the demon just enjoy looking at and being physically intimate with his vessel?

Castiel was still staring down at his clasped hands when he felt a shift in the mattress beside him. He lifted his face to see a stunningly naked Meg quickly slipping under the bedding at his side. He smiled at her, "Feel better?"

"Loads," she sighed, "Sorry for taking so long. I decided to rinse the ick off and then do a bubble bath."

Castiel looked surprised then glanced at the nearby alarm clock on the nightstand. He looked back at her and said, "I didn't realize you were gone for a while."

"I bet. You looked pretty deep in thought when I came in here," Meg said, scooching further down under the sheet and blanket. She rolled on her side to face him.

"Let's get some rest," the demon replied closing her eyes.

Castiel reached over and turned off the lamp on his night table then scooted down under the bedding. He rolled to face Meg and asked, "Can I be the big…utensil this time?"

Meg chuckled and cracked an eye open, saying "Only if you can tell me what utensil you're referring to."

Castiel squinted his eyes and stared out the nearby window in thought. She had corrected him a bunch of times on this. So much so, that in order not to annoy her, he began saying "utensil" instead a specific type of silverware. This was the first time since he started saying "utensil" that she had asked him to specify. Now he was unsure.

He looked back to her and asked warily, "What are the consequences if I state the wrong one?"

Meg replied, "It depends on the response given."

Castiel looked away thinking. There were only three eating utensils that he could recall saying at one time or another. One of those was correct. Thinking carefully, Castiel reasoned that requesting to be the big knife in a relationship didn't seem affectionate. Therefore, it was spoon or fork. Spooning sounded invasive and forking sound, well, slightly lewd. Meg liked lewd. After a few moments, the angel cautiously responded, "Fork?"

He looked back at her and faintly saw her lips twitching, "I would love for you to fork me."

Castiel looked at her uncertainly.

"But the correct answer was 'spoon,'" She said smiling."

Meg then rolled over so her back faced him. Castiel was gazing at Meg's bare back when she glanced over her shoulder and said, "You gonna spoon me or not, Clarence?"

Castiel moved closer wrapping an arm around her waist. Castiel didn't need to sleep though he had tried to on multiple occasions. He felt too vulnerable being unaware of his environment to sleep long. The angel did occasionally allow himself to drift into a meditative state when he spent the night with Meg. The demon also didn't need to sleep but when the angel asked why she bothered to, the demon smirked and replied, "Because the only thing better than sex is the feeling of waking up well-rested."

Castiel waited until Meg's breathing started to even out before he allowed himself to relax. The angel settled further into the bedding and pulled the demon closer to him. When she made a pained sound, he lifted his head slightly and said, "Meg?"

"I'm fine," she sleepily murmured, "It's nothing but a little bruise."

Castiel frowned at the back of her head and began to gingerly inspect her abdomen and ribs, "Where does it hurt?"

Meg replied, "Cas, you don't have to-"

"Where?" he interjected.

"Ribs," she mumbled, motioning to the ribs facing him.

Castiel gently laid his hand on her rib cage. He was able to touch the front and back of her rib cage. _She's so small_ , the angel thought. He healed her injury and sensed that it was more than a little bruise. From what he could tell, she had a couple of broken ribs but had no intention of telling him about them.

Meg hummed, "Feels so much better."

He settled back into bed and pulled her close again. After a few moments, as the demon he spooned fell asleep, Castiel spoke.

"I know you like to only rely on yourself," the angel sighed, "But you do not need to lie or hide your injuries."

When she didn't respond, Castiel thought she fell asleep. He pressed his face into her hair and started to relax and meditate.

"I'll protect you," the angel murmured.

He felt Meg shift and turn around in his arms to face him. She gave him a lopsided grin then scooted closer to him to bury her face in his chest. Meg then sleepily asked, "From what?"

"I don't know," Castiel trailed off.

"Anything," he finished, unconsciously clutching her tighter.

Meg pulled away from his chest and gave him a small smile. She then kissed both his cheeks, his nose, and ended with a long kiss on his lips before she tucked her head back into his chest.

As she snugged closer to him, Castiel heard her mumble, "I love you too, Clarence."


End file.
